


if there's a soulmate for everyone

by dinglesugdendinglesugden



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, Soulmates AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 12:53:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16063565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinglesugdendinglesugden/pseuds/dinglesugdendinglesugden
Summary: Everyone has a mark on them, which shows the place their soulmate will first touch. When they do touch, the mark disappears.





	if there's a soulmate for everyone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aarobron](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aarobron/gifts).



> for @aarobron who, for the past few months has become a constant figure in my life, kept me sane when i was having breakdowns over anything and everything, taught me things and has allowed me to have political debates. you’re one of the best pals i could’ve ever asked for, so when i got you for the fandom appreciation day, i knew i had to go to good job
> 
> ps: i’m so sneaky, hiding this from you lmao

** if there’s a soulmate for everyone **

Everybody was marked uniquely. A dark mark on a random body part. Some people had a hand print, others had marks that looked like splotches. Rumour had it, that wherever the black mark laid, that was the place in which your soulmate, the person you truly belonged with, first touched you. People talked of that first touch being electric, like sparks flew between the connected skin, cheeks flushing at the almost magical feeling, and then the black mark that once covered the flesh just disappeared into thin air, as though it was never there.

It could happen at any time. There was no warning for when you’d meet the person that you were destined to spend the rest of your life with, only that one day, you would wake up thinking that it was just an ordinary day and get on with your life, only to have it turned upside down by the arrival and touch of a new person.

And that’s exactly what happened with Robert.

Sun beamed into his car window, seeming warmer than it was outside. September had come around quicker than he had anticipated, the air a brisk coldness that seemed refreshing, yet had remnants of Autumn mornings on the farm, when he woke up and all he could feel was the cold air hitting his lungs. He had to squint his eyes slightly, just so he could see the road he was driving along. Not that he needed to. This was him: metaphorically and literally coming home.

The winding road was so familiar to him, even a decade after he’d last driven down it, in the opposite direction. It was almost as if this was _it_ , like coming home now was the best decision he ever made.

He slammed the door shut and took in the view around him. It was just serene. The air was crisp, a freshness overwhelming his senses, the smell of morning dew and freshly mowed lawns. His cheeks blushed peach from the cold, even though the late morning sun made him feel uncomfortably warm with the excessive amount of layers he’d put on that morning.

Maybe it was time to admit that the countryside wasn’t always as cold as everyone made it out to be. And maybe, just maybe, you can take the boy out of the North, but you struggle to take the North out of the boy – because the coldness hadn’t affected him, almost as if it wasn’t even a thing.

Victoria had recently found out that Robert had been living only a few miles away for the past six months as he adapted to life in a new business, and once she found out that the lease on his flat was almost up, the emotional blackmail kicked in, and Robert had booked to have a viewing on a house back in Emmerdale village. Victoria was elated, of course she was. The big brother that had been missing from her life for so long, who had missed out on watching her grow up into an adult, was finally coming back to be around her.

To him, everything had changed. Young children had become teenagers, some even rolling over into the realm of adulthood, some people had left the village or died, and others Robert just didn’t recognise at all. Victoria was just excited to have her big brother around her again, and it definitely showed. The beaming smile never left her face. She stayed clung to Robert’s side, telling him all the stories of the past decade, asking him questions about what he did in all the time he was away, and pointing out people that Robert wouldn’t know.

All the while, her eyes were trained on the dark mark that looked at place on Robert’s right palm.

It was like she was just fixated.

“Oh, Robert.” She practically squealed. “Imagine if you meet your soulmate right here! How romantic would that be?”

Robert just rolled his eyes and let her get on with her fantasising.

“Have you met yours then?” He asked, leaning on the bar as he drank his pint.

She didn’t even have to answer, because the way her face lit up just answered his question for her.

 

* * *

 

 

It was just there, resting on his left shoulder. A black mark, teasing him every time he saw it. Like it was just taunting him, because Aaron knew that the moment the mark disappeared, he’d have met the person he was destined to spend the rest of his life with.

To others, nobody would be able to see that Aaron wished it would happen soon. Everywhere he looked, people had clean skin and smiles on their faces and he just knew that they would be happy for the rest of their lives. He wanted that. _Yearned_ for it, really.

The mark was a constant reminder, every morning when he stood in his bathroom, shirt off and looking in the mirror. His feet froze at the coldness of the floor, sleep in his eyes yet he was just drawn to the darkness every day. 

Aaron had been on too many nights out where he thought he’d definitely meet ‘the one’, under the thumping music and fluorescent lights. His brain ticked like clockwork, trying to think of all the possible scenarios in which someone would first touch his shoulder, but in the end nothing had come of it.

He’d given up. Just accepted that it’ll happen when life decides it’ll happen, just like with everyone else. If they could eventually be happy – why couldn’t Aaron?

Sat on a stool at the bar, Aaron drank his pint, feeling the cooling condensation dripping down onto his hand. The pub was packed, more than on a usual day, people lucky if they found a spare seat anywhere. Aaron looked around to see if he could find anyone he actually recognised, and saw Victoria at the other end of the bar, grin wide as she looked up at a tall blond man, both of them sharing a moment, laughing at something. From first glance, Aaron couldn’t see his face, but when he turned around – _Oh._

Aaron felt heat rush to his cheeks, and quickly teared his eyes away. It wasn’t like him to get all shy when seeing someone new, but even Aaron had to admit that he was good looking. Probably not the type of bloke he’d go up to in a club, for fear of being turned down, but fit all the same.

It was just a relaxing, serene moment, once Aaron had gotten over the shared eye contact. But his mind kept ticking over the man’s face, like Aaron just couldn’t forget it, even if he tried. It was just imprinted on his brain.

The relaxation didn’t last long. Not long enough anyway. Because Victoria was stood at the other end of the bar, right next to the fit blond that Aaron seemed to be captivated by, and then one second later they were both at Aaron’s side.

“Aaron.” Victoria said, smile on her face. The man looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, right now. “This is my brother, Robert.”

_Brother._

 That knocked Aaron for six. Hadn’t expected that at all.

Aaron just nodded in his acknowledgement. “Nice to meet you mate.”

Victoria just rolled her eyes, but knew that getting anything more out of Aaron would be an unbelievable feat.

And then Robert spoke. “Toilets still where they used to be, yeah?”

Both of them nodded in response, and Robert put his pint down on the bar, next to Aaron’s.

“Cheers.”

Neither of them knew what happened next, but Robert’s hand pressed to Aaron’s shoulder, like they both navigated toward each other. Robert just wanted to get past, trying to squeeze through a small gap, and to balance himself he put his hand over Aaron’s shoulder. But then it was like electricity sparked through their veins,  just a moment that they shared together, both of them knowing what had happened, and trying to not show it to everyone.

Robert just carried on walking, his hand burning and his legs like jelly. He looked back at Aaron, both of them flushed red in their cheeks.

“I actually need to toilet to, so.” Aaron said, voice trailing off like he didn’t want to speak, just wanted to follow Robert.

And it was worth it.

So, so worth it.

Because Robert’s arm reached out the second Aaron made his way through the double doors, and he grabbed onto Aaron’s shirt, pulling them close together. Robert was practically pinned to the wall, with Aaron’s hands either side of him, but neither of the cared.

“Where was yours?” Aaron asked, sultry voice practically rolling off his tongue. The moment they kissed couldn’t be soon enough.

Robert just raised his right hand, and Aaron looked in complete and utter pleasure as he saw the skin clear, save for a few rogue freckles.

“Yours?” Robert whispered, lips so close to Aaron’s, teasing him.

“My shoulder.” Aaron answered, and leaned forward, too impatient to wait. If he had to take matters into his own hands, he would. And God, was he happy about it.

Robert’s lips tasted like heaven – and lager – and Aaron just couldn’t help but smirk against them, both of them feeling this otherworldly pressure between them,  clichéd butterflies tossing and turning in their bellies as Robert’s hands came up to touch Aaron’s face, the kissing deepening as Robert traced the beard on Aaron’s cheeks, coarse hair under his thumb.

Aaron pulled back to breathe, and maybe to admire Robert’s face too.

“God, you’re good.” Robert chuckled, pulling Aaron in, not wanting to stop the kissing just yet.

He’d waited his whole life to meet his soulmate, he absolutely wasn’t about to stop this anytime soon.


End file.
